


Found Out

by afteriwake



Series: Evening Twilight [10]
Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 10:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When everyone found out about...whatever it was Matsumoto had with Grimmjow, she found help in unexpected quarters while he found himself doing unexpected and stupid things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found Out

Word spread like wildfire almost as soon as everyone began their duties for the day. By noon, almost every member of every division knew that Grimmjow had been seen coming out of Matsumoto’s quarters around midnight the night before. She had no clue who had seen them, she thought as she walked past another cluster of people whispering and staring, but oh, she wanted to kill them. Whatever it was that she had with Grimmjow, and she _refused_ to call it a relationship, was her own business, and suddenly it had become everyone else’s.

She went back into the office she shared with Hitsugaya and sat on the couch, putting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She was pretty sure she was the most reviled person in all of Soul Society at the moment for sleeping with the “enemy.” He wasn’t the enemy; the Arrancar who had attacked were the enemy. He didn’t go off and join them. When push had come to shove, and it had really come to shove, he fought _against_ the Arrancar, alongside the 11th Division. But still, he was an Arrancar, and that made it worse.

She sighed. The only person who had directly said anything to her was Hisagi, who said that he didn’t care what her relationship with Grimmjow was, he would still be her friend. As he told her, you can’t really control who you’re attracted to. She appreciated it, but had the feeling he would be one of the few who would remain her friend after this.

The door opened and she looked up, a look of surprise dawning on her face. “Captain!” she said, getting up quickly. He was leaning on Hinamori for support, and she looked worried.

“Sit down,” he said quietly as he stepped away from Hinamori and went to his desk. “Have you done all the paperwork that had been piling up?”

“No,” she admitted, sitting back down. Hinamori came and sat by her side, placing a hand on her knee.

“I was told that you have been feeling guilty about Hitsugaya-kun’s injuries,” she said.

“Yes,” she said quietly.

“There is no need,” he said. “Hinamori asked to explain.”

Matsumoto turned to look at her. “Explain what?”

“Only recently have I become a good Lieutenant again,” she said, “but I cannot keep my Division under control. Some of the unseated shinigami in my division decided to take it upon themselves to fight the Arrancar. I asked Hitsugaya-kun to help me get them before they got themselves killed. He was not injured because of the information you gave to the Gotei 13, Rangiku-san. He was injured because of reckless shinigami.”

“So, I did not cause your injuries?” she said, turning to look at him.

“No,” he replied. “You did not.”

A large portion of the guilt she had been feeling suddenly went away, and she began to cry. Hinamori reached over to her and pulled her into a hug, and Matsumoto began to cry on her shoulder. After a few moments, the crying subsided and she wiped her eyes. “Thank you for letting me know,” she said.

“I understand that while I have been recovering other things have happened,” he said. “I have heard about your relationship with the Arrancar Grimmjow.”

She winced slightly. “It is not exactly a relationship,” she said weakly.

“Whatever it is, know that I will stand by you,” he said.

“I will too,” Hinamori said. “You can’t help who you’re attracted to. I know from experience.”

Matsumoto looked at her and chuckled slightly. “I was told the same thing by someone else this morning,” she said with a small smile.

“See? So others know it’s true as well,” Hinamori answered with a smile of her own.

“In time the talk will fade,” Hitsugaya said. “The fact that he didn’t turn on us will help it stop faster.” Then he paused. “Are you going to continue your relationship with him, whatever it is?”

“I…don’t know,” she said.

Hitsugaya nodded. “As I said, I will stand by you. I owe you.”

Matsumoto blinked and turned back to look at him. “Why?”

“If you had not confronted me with the fact that Hinamori liked me as more than a friend, I would not be as happy as I have been as of late,” he said. “For that, I owe you.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Now. I left the relief center without Unohana’s complete consent on the promise that I would not overexert myself,” he replied, “which means I cannot carry piles of paperwork to my desk. We should work on making those piles smaller in manageable increments.”

“I will start doing it right away,” she said, standing up and moving to her desk.

“Will you come back to help me to my quarters tonight?” he asked Hinamori.

She nodded. “Of course. If you need me, send a message to the 5th Division. I will come as quickly as I can.

Hitsugaya smiled at her. “Thank you.”

She smiled back. “You’re welcome.” With that she got up and left the office.

Matsumoto took a small stack of paperwork to his desk, and then went back for a larger one to take to her own desk. This was something to fill up time, she thought to herself, to push the thoughts whirring in her head away for at least a short while.

\--

“I don’t mind him because he usually stays in the 11th Division barracks, but…to share a bed with him? That’s disgusting.” The two shinigami walking through the corridors were not paying attention until Grimmjow stopped directly in their path. He scowled at them, and when they looked up they suddenly got very afraid. “Please forgive us,” the one who had just been talking said.

“Get out of my way,” he said in a low voice, and the two of them allowed him to pass between them. He continued on his way back to his quarters, the scowl firmly etched on his face. He had never really been subjected to gossip before, and he found that it greatly irritated him. He got back into the 11th Division barracks, aiming to cut through the courtyard, when he heard two more voices.

“I had respect for her, but now I find her worthy of no respect,” the 7th seat of 11th Division said. “She’s just a cheap whore.”

Grimmjow had had enough. He turned, walked over to the man who had just spoken and grabbed him by the throat. He struggled as Grimmjow lifted him up and slammed him against the wall they were standing by. The three men who had been talking to him drew their swords. “I’ve had enough of this crap,” Grimmjow said.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Ikkaku called from behind them all. The other men turned and looked at him. “He said something about Rangiku-san, eh?” he asked Grimmjow.

“Yeah,” he said as the man began to struggle less.

“He’s about to pass out. Let him down and help me deal with his friends.”

Grimmjow let the man down and he gasped for breath, clutching at his throat. His friends took one look at Ikkaku, who had slowly started to draw his sword, and then moved out of the way to go help their friend. “I didn’t need your help,” he told Ikkaku as he backed away from the men.

“And leave me out of the fun? That’s not fair,” he said, sheathing his sword again. “Rangiku-san is a good person. I’d almost consider her a friend. And if anyone insults her about whatever it is between you two I’ll gladly draw my sword against them.”

He looked at Ikkaku and nodded. “Fine.”

“Speaking of that, what _is_ going on between you two?” Ikkaku said as they both began to cross the courtyard.

“I don’t know,” he said with a slight shrug.

“Just know that if you hurt her I will fight you,” he said.

“Like you stand a chance,” he scoffed.

“Maybe, maybe not. But I’ll still fight you.”

“I will too,” another voice said from in front of them. Both men stopped and looked at Kenpachi, who looked past them at the four men rushing to leave. “Captain Unohana likes her, and I like to keep her happy. If that means beating the crap out of some of the punks in this division then that’s fine with me. If that means beating you in a fight…just know I won’t hold back.”

“Fine,” he said. “Then I’d get a real fight.”

“What, so the rest of our fights haven’t been real?” Kenpachi said, raising an eyebrow.

“I know you hold back,” he said.

“And you don’t?”

He shook his head. “I’ve never used my Resurrección against you.”

Kenpachi looked at him and then laughed. “Then we should go have a real fight,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to do today. And there’s no more Arrancar to kill, so…”

Grimmjow grinned slightly. “Yeah, a real fight sounds good right about now.”

“I can watch, right?” Ikkaku said.

“Bring the whole Division if you want,” Kenpachi said with a shrug. “An hour, then?”

“Fine with me,” Grimmjow said with a nod.

\--

“Rangiku-san!”

Matsumoto and Hitsugaya looked up from their paperwork to see Isane at the doorway. “Yes?”

“You have been requested at the 4th Division relief station,” she said, starting to catch her breath.

A look of confusion settled on Matsumoto’s face “By whom?” she asked.

“Grimmjow,” she said. “He and Captain Kenpachi are in very bad shape right now, and Captain Unohana already scolded both of them, and then he asked for you. Captain Unohana asked me to come get you.”

Matsumoto shook his head. “That idiot,” she said with a scowl. “Captain?”

“Go,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Just come back when you’re done.”

“Yes, Captain,” she said. With that, she left her desk and followed Isane through the hallways of the 10th Division headquarters. “How bad is it?”

“Bad,” Isane replied. “Grimmjow almost lost his arm.”

“What were they _doing_?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“According to the 11th Division members that brought them to us, fighting at full strength. Many of the trees in the forest where they fight have been demolished.” She shook her head. “Captain Kenpachi is hurt almost as badly.”

“Why?” she asked, shaking her head. “Why at full strength?”

“As 3rd Seat Ikkaku said, they wanted a real fight with each other. They’d been holding back in all of their other fights.” She paused. “Rangiku-san, may I ask you a question?”

She sighed. “Is it about Grimmjow?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Fine, go ahead.”

“Why have you shared your bed with him?”

She thought for a moment. “Attraction, guilt and anger,” she said finally. “Whatever kind of relationship we have is complicated.”

“It doesn’t sound healthy,” Isane said.

“No, it isn’t. Does it disgust you as much as it disgusts almost everyone else?”

She shook her head. “No. And it’s not my business anyway. Your choices are your own, and while I don’t think I’d make the same choice, I think you made them for reasons that mean something to you. I respect that.”

Matsumoto nodded. “I have. And you’re right. It was my choice. And it will continue to _be_ my choice.” And with that the conversation stopped and they continued on their way in silence. When they made it to the relief station Isane showed her to his room and then left them alone. Matsumoto stood by the door for a moment before walking in and pulling a chair close to his bed. “You’re an idiot,” she said quietly.

“A fight’s no fun if you hold back,” he said, continuing to look at the ceiling.

“You almost got yourself killed,” she replied.

“And you actually care about that?”

“Yes,” she said. “Why did you ask for me?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve gotten used to you, I guess.”

“That’s not a good reason.”

“It’s the only one I’ve got,” he replied, finally turning to look at her. “You’ve gotten used to me too, right?”

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “I have.”

“Good,” he said, turning his head so he was looking at the ceiling again.

“What is this between us?” she asked after a moment. “It’s not healthy.”

He shut his eyes. “I don’t know.” He paused. “I almost killed a guy who said you were a whore.”

Her eyes went wide. “Why?”

“I’m tired of all the crap that’s happening,” he said. “It’s our business what we do with each other, not theirs.”

“Yes, but…you almost killed a man over my honor?” she asked. “I don’t see why you would do that. You’ve told me you don’t care about me.”

“I don’t,” he said.

“You’re lying to yourself,” she said. “You told me you never lie to yourself.”

“Look, I don’t care about you, all right? I’m just sick of the gossip.” He turned to look at her. “So don’t think anything more of it.”

“I won’t,” she said with a hint of steel in her voice. She got up to leave. “When you feel better, we need to talk.”

“You’re leaving?” he asked.

“You obviously don’t want me here,” she said. “You don’t care about me, so why should you care if I leave?”

“If I didn’t want you here I wouldn’t have asked for you,” he said.

“And you can’t even give me a good reason for that,” she said, her voice rising slightly. “I came over here, and I wasn’t expecting anything, and I didn’t get anything except more confusion and I don’t want to deal with it right now.”

“What’s so confusing here?” he asked, trying to sit up.

“You don’t care for me, yet you’re acting like I’m important to you,” she said. “And I don’t understand _why_. So, whenever you figure it out, let me know, okay? I have to get back to work.” 

“Fine,” he said. “Go.” She left the room without another word, leaving him to himself and the thoughts he didn’t want to think, the lie he was telling himself. When had she been able to figure him out so well, he thought to himself. What had changed? And why did he actually _care_ about her? He didn’t care about anyone other than himself, but he had started to care about her at some point, even if it was just the barest bit. And this was not like him. This was not like him at all.


End file.
